Premiere for Phoenix Racing: Ernst Moser’s team will be competing in Australia for the first time at the end of February. At the Bathurst 12 Hours held from 24 to 26 February Phoenix will be fielding two 560-HP Audi R8 LMS cars. After clinching a one-two result last year the successful GT3 sports car will enter this endurance classic as the title defender.
“Bathurst is a new challenge for Phoenix and will provide us with new experiences. Of course we’re really excited about going to Australia in February to run at this unique event,” comments Phoenix’s team boss Ernst Moser. “We packed our equipment before Christmas and despatched it by sea freight. We’ll do everything we can to repeat last year’s success with the two Audi R8 LMS cars. The race will no doubt be a real thriller – and a fantastic experience.”
Audi’s driver line-up for the Bathurst grid is a top-calibre international squad. The German Christopher Mies and Darryl from Hong Kong, who won the endurance race in February, are again sharing a cockpit, reinforced by Christer Jöns. The German achieved four podium results in the ADAC GT Masters last year and, like Christopher Mies, was a member of Audi’s factory team at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
The drivers at the wheel of the second R8 LMS are of particular interest to the enthusiastic Australian audience. Mark Eddy/Craig Lowndes/Warren Luff are running together under the symbol of the four rings for the second time in succession. In 2011, Mark Eddy in his own Audi R8 LMS took the title in the Australian GT Championship. The seasoned touring car campaigner Warren Luff set the fastest lap of all Audi drivers at Bathurst in 2011. Lowndes is regarded as a touring car legend, having won the V8 Supercar Series three times and the Bathurst 1000 race on five occasions. In February, the trio finished the Bathurst 12 Hours as the runners-up.
When Phoenix Racing travels to Australia in February to compete in the famous Bathurst 12 Hours with two Audi R8 LMS cars this won’t be the team’s first overseas commitment. In 1999, the debut year of Ernst Moser’s squad, the team embarked on its first big journey after the end of the Super Touring Cup (STW) season. The destination: Macau.